1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle constructions, and more particularly relates to an improved configuration for six-door limousines wherein a center seat, positioned between front and rear seats, can move between forward and rearward facing positions, and wherein the seat retains a generally L-shaped configuration during transition between said forward and rearward facing positions, and the seat elevates upon a pivoting link during such transition.
2. General Background
Elongated luxury automobiles, such as limousines, typically have elongated vehicle bodies that include a forward engine compartment covered with a hood, a central passenger compartment with multiple seating arrangements, and a trunk area aft. A common arrangement for limousines provides front and rear seats with a large open area between the front and rear seats which can be equipped with foot rests for the passengers to provide an elongated area of leg room.
In a six-door limousine however, there are three sets of laterally extending seating areas including front, middle, and rear seating areas. Typically, each seating area of a six-door limousine can be accessed from either left-hand or right-hand side doors. The doors are arranged in pairs, including, e.g., front left and right doors which are positioned immediately beside the front seat. Similarly the second pair of doors accesses the center seat while the aft pair of doors accesses the rear seat. This arrangement allows passengers to enter the vehicle on either side and at any of the three positions in order to sit in one of the sitting arrangements. However, because of space considerations and constraints, it is difficult to obtain a large amount of foot room within a six-passenger limousine. Each seating area of a six-door limousine must have seat belts for the occupants in order to prevents loss of life or personal injury if possible during an accident. This lack of space and problem of seat belt availability presents a problem if a different and convertible seating arrangement is desired for a six-door limousine. Still further problems are present in attempting to have a seating arrangement for a six-door limousine if the passenger seats are to shift for facing optionally different directions.
The problem of seating arrangements in vehicles has been the subject of several U.S. patents. An example of an early patent is U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,508, entitled "Car Seat Construction," which relates to a seat that can afford the passenger the ability to sit facing forwardly or rearwardly.
A convertible-type seat arrangement for water craft is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,178, entitled "Convertible Seat Structure For Cabin Cruisers."
An automobile construction having seats which fold into different configurations is seen in the Willson U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,876, entitled "Family Car Ensembles."
Some patents have been granted which are directed to a seat mechanism for providing a reversible or convertible seat structure. One such example is the Bell et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,347 which provides a convertible and reversible seat structure such as the type used in recreational vehicles. The apparatus includes a load supporting base with two pivotally attached frame members which may be alternated between a vertical position and a horizontal position such that the direction of seating is reversed and means is provided to adjust the frame members relative to one another to vary their relative inclination.
Another reversible seat is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,846 entitled "Reversible Seat Apparatus." The '846 patent includes a seat located in a vehicle for seating passengers in a forward direction or alternatively in a rearward direction. The seat apparatus has a frame carrying a backrest cushion and a seat cushion. Two pairs of legs attach the frame to a support secured to the floor of the vehicle. A releasable lock assembly has upright support members which engage pins in the legs to hold the frame in a first seating position and in a second seating position. A release arm connected to one of the legs is operable on application of force thereto to move the members from the pins whereby the frame can be moved to its second seating position.
In the Logsdon U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,051, there is provided a seat for a dual-purpose vehicle having a first implement at the front and a backhoe at the rear wherein the seat provides a reversible back carried upon an adjustable support which includes a seat mounting carriage that has a forward end on rollers and a rearward end supported by links so that by use of a manual lever which is pivoted adjacent the seat and operatively connected to the rear part of the carriage the seat may be elevated and moved rearwardly so as to provide a more favorable seat position for backhoe operation.
A multi-purpose convertible seat construction is provided in the Garza et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,860. The seat construction of the '860 patent includes a back section and a seat section interconnected and supported so that they may be selectively positioned to constitute a forwardly facing seat, a rearwardly facing seat or a sleep surface in which the back and seat sections are disposed in co-planar relation. Thus, the two seat parts are movable with respect to one another into the multiple positions.
Another reversible seat assembly is seen in the Hodge et.al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,052, entitled "Latch Assembly-Reversible Seat." The device disclosed in the '052 patent features a latch assembly for locking a vehicle operator's seat assembly in either a forward or a reverse operating position and includes a cam selectively positionable in response to movement of the seat assembly and an arm assembly and a pin for releasable engaging the cam and cooperating therewith in locking the seat assembly in position.
A walk-over seat is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,542. The seat features a pair of side members and a seat back which may be moved between the front and rear ends of the seat. The seat back is connected to the upper ends of two elongated links on each side of the seat back. Each link has a lower end mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis between frontwardly and rearwardly extending positions. Each link is engaged by a respective latching member when the link is in one of its positions. Structure is provided to transfer to the side members of the seat the load exerted against a latching member by the link when the seat back is impacted or hit from behind, to prevent the latching member from being sprung or bent out of position. The latching member has a special configuration to accommodate different dispositions and mountings of the latching member and the link it engages.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,917, there is provided a reconfigurable rear seat for vans or station wagons. The bench-type rear seat has three sections independently movable about a common laterally extending pivot axis. The rear seat is positioned in a van or station wagon behind the front seat for seats where the driver sits. The section includes a pair of cushions that may function either as upright backrests or as posterior supports, or as bed cushions. The third section comprises a wrap around control bar that is used to establish the upright position of one of the cushions. By moving the sections, the seat can be configured so that the passengers can face forwardly or rearwardly. The sections can also be moved to provide a flat bed. The wrap around control bar includes head rests and locking mechanisms for fixing the position of the upright backrest section. Adjustable head rests and arm rests are also provided. Shoulder type seat belts are connected to the control bar so that they may be used whether the seat is arranged for forward or rearward sitting. An integral lumbar support cushion may be folded down in both the forward and rearward facing configurations. The mounting position of the rear seat in the van or station wagon may be adjusted infinitely by sliding forward and back on the tracks. The seat may be folded up and moved to a stowed position, for example, directly behind the front seat. Some convertible seats are commercially available which can face forward, rearward, or collapse into a flat configuration to form a bed. Such commercially available seats are available from, for example, Flexsteel Industries, Inc. and Kustom Fit Mfg. Co.
These prior art patents deal primarily with seat mechanisms which would be adaptable to mounting on open floor areas in vehicles such as vans and station wagons where space for multiple and convertible seats is not a problem. Many of the prior art mechanisms are generally complicated which could present problems in use with six-door, three seat limousines wherein conversion of the seat must be done very rapidly, with minimum effort, and without the danger of injury to one of the users. Some mechanisms have complex linkage which might catch a passenger's fingers, for example. Further, because limousines have limited interior seating area, when equipped with six doors and three seating areas, space is at a premium. While van-type configurations use substantially the full length of a vehicle, limousines generally have a confined interior area because they are equipped with a trunk area for stowing the luggage of users/passengers, and an elongated engine compartment area. Thus, seating arrangements which might work well for cargo vans and the like present particular problems with six-door, three seat limousines.
Many of the references of the prior art relate to convertible seats wherein the seat back alone moves with respect to the base. Other configurations use seats and seat backs which are independently movable with respect to one another so that a bed can be formed.
The present invention provides an improvement over the prior art in that a simple, straightforward yet workable seating configuration is provided for limousines having six doors which include a front, middle, and rear pair of doors, each pair of doors corresponding to a seat area which includes forward, center, and rear seat areas.